Many students have piles of papers accumulating in the bottom of their lockers or strewn around their rooms at home. A lack of organizational skills can be a serious impediment to learning and academic success. Students may miss deadlines because they can’t find the work that is due. They may discover that they can’t review for an upcoming test or exam because they have lost the work they need to study.
Teaching students to organize their work and their materials is an explicit goal in helping them become effective learners. Three powerful techniques are described below.
Learning Journals
Deciding between physical and digital journals. While there is enormous pressure to move to an all-digital format in many schools, there are some considerations worth paying attention to.
Cost is a factor. Some schools and some students cannot afford tablets or laptop computers. A spiral notebook is an affordable alternative.
Distraction can be an issue. Screens draw students’ attention and offer all sorts of temptations —games, texting, emails, random internet searches, etc.
Handwriting has its purposes. There are some aspects of expression which are better suited to handwriting. Algebraic equations, graphic organizers, doodles, sketches, brainstorming, and rough outlines come to mind. For some people, the pace of handwriting is better suited to thinking through what they want to express. It is also a skill that can be useful in certain real-world circumstances, and there is no substitute for practice.
Technology is undeniably efficacious. For some students, word processing is much more efficient than handwriting, both in terms of speed and the effectiveness of editing.
Student choice must be considered. Ultimately, students know best what the most effective means of recording their work will be. They should, however, make an informed choice, which means experimenting with both well-organized hand-writing and digital writing.
A hybrid approach may be optimal. While having student work collected in both digital and physical formats can be harder to organize and keep track of, both formats can be accommodated using a combination of a good system of documentation and an effective use of portfolios (see below).
Whether physical or digital, journals should provide a single location for most written work. When students put most or all of their written work — class notes, homework, labs, reading notes — in a journal, it becomes a learning log and a record of their process. Of course, there may be other aspects of the process that are separate, such as quizzes and tests, or loose-leaf worksheets, that don’t easily fit into the journal. These separate pieces can be collected in portfolios.
Journals can be used to instill pride in the production of an excellent product. When students are taught to create consistent, thoughtful, well-executed journals, it can cultivate a sense of pleasure in having created something substantial and excellent. For some students, this will be a new and important experience.
Physical Journals
Spiral notebooks are generally the best format. A single spiral notebook is more practical than a three-ring binder or a fixed-binding essay book. Binders are bulkier and harder to stack when collecting student work, and fixed bindings prevent students from ripping out pages that, for whatever reason, don’t “work”.
Students should have a single journal that is dedicated to only your class. Three or five subject notebooks are not practical when you are collecting student work and need to keep it for a day or two for grading purposes.
Have each student create her own journal cover. The front of the journal should ideally have the student’s name, the name of the subject, and the class period, so that they are easy for you to organize. Lettering must be legible and large enough to read easily, and there should not be excessive decorations that interfere with clarity. Giving students permanent markers in a number of colors and giving them class time to create their covers is a worthwhile investment in time. They can take turns using the materials while working on some group task.
Teach students to use a consistent format for their journal entries. Every entry needs a title (which you should initially define for them), and a date. Each entry should ideally start at the top of a new page for clarity. Simple elements of design should be encouraged, like allowing enough space around the margins and leaving space between paragraphs or problems. Other possibilities include numbering pages and/or leaving the first two or three pages blank for the ongoing creation of a table of contents.
Digital Journals
While many of the same guidelines for paper journals apply to digital versions, students may also need to be taught how to create and organize file folders as well as creating effective document titles. The organization of student work will, of course, depend largely on the particular software being used. In any case, the software should allow the following functions:
An option for student reflection and self-evaluation, including an assessment of mastery, commentary on what was understood, and what needs to be reviewed in class.
A mechanism for teachers to respond to student work.
The ability for student work to be used in group discussions, both online and in class.
The ability for students to work within specific formats and/or document forms designed by the teacher.
Portfolios
Giving each student a portfolio helps them all to keep their work organized and available. Whether digital, physical, or some combination of the two, a portfolio provides a permanent home for their work in the classroom. Portfolios can serve an essential function during grade conferences with students.
Deciding between physical vs digital portfolios. As with the format of learning journals, portfolios can be physical or digital. Both have advantages and disadvantages. Physical portfolios are inexpensive and are essential for collecting work that is paper-based, such as worksheets, paper problem sets, tests, learning contracts, etc. Physical portfolios help student learn the skills of organizing their work. On the other hand, they are also bulky and can take up considerable space in a classroom. Digital portfolios are easy to set up, take up no space at all, but require expensive equipment for every student.
Using physical portfolios. The most effective structure for physical portfolios is hanging folders in a portable rack. Having one rack per class provides clarity and flexibility in storing student work. File folders for different classes can be different colors to aid in keeping student work from becoming lost or misfiled. File racks can also be clearly labeled.
Portfolios should remain in the classroom. While learning journals can leave the room every day, the portfolios are a stationary record of work. There are times, while reviewing for a semester exam, for instance, when a student needs to remove a portfolio from the classroom, but in general, keeping them in the room provides stability and prevents the loss of this important record.
Students should maintain portfolios in alphabetical order. While it is possible to have a student take on the role of portfolio manager, it is optimal to have students take responsibility for keeping their own portfolio in the appropriate alphabetical order in the rack. This encourages a sense of a common purpose and belonging.
Documentation of the Learning Process
Giving students a form that allows them to keep track of their work can have a powerful effect on their ability to keep the learning process organized. Such a structure can summarize what work is available, what they have completed, and what they still need to do. This is particularly important if differentiated learning is happening in your classroom.
The structure can be as simple as a check list or a cover sheet on a packet of materials, or as complex as a unit learning contract. It can be a sheet of paper or a digital record. It can include space for self-evaluation, teacher’s comments, or student self-reflection. Such structures are discussed in depth in the chapter “Grades Reconsidered”. What is essential is that a student can look in one place and see a comprehensive record of her work.